Picture Rock starts off with a gorgeous leg wild moderate but steady elevation gain thru a valley capped by red buttes. Awesome. The trail is true narrow singletrack snaking thru gulleys that are nicely contoured into the hillside. Sweet. When you reach the silo the trail takes on a different guise and thurs a more technical (maybe half of what the Hall Ranch rock garden is by comparions), not hard, but not cruise-y like the 1st few miles. Highlight of this section include the "great wall of Heil" which switchback up a talus slope...cool feature. When you return back to the silo you have a rocket ride back down the smoother section to the parking lot. Mui fun, then trail is narrow and some sight lines limited so watch your speed...someone is going to get nailed on this trail inevitably, don't let it be you. The weekends are going to be crowded too as well, just the sign of a great new trail in Boulder County.

If you want and epic start at Heil proper and ride all the way to Hall and back... I like longish rides and that would be a full half day excursion.

Summary:This trail is a fun mellow climb, but a boring descent. It is difficult to really get going fast enough to start having fun and play on the trail. It follows the IMBA trail building book to a T, tons of grade reversals, obstacles on the inside of every corner (that catch your bars if you like to ride wide bars) and speed control features when ever you find your self getting up to speed. The whole upper trail is rough but not technical, the corners are flowing but not fast enough to rip. And you have to pedal the whole descent if you want to keep your speed up. The trail has flow, but only in the sense that it keeps you from going fast. This trail is perfect for some users that don't like sit down pedally medium-slow descents with mild technical features, and an easy climb. But if you like pop off rollers, slash corners, rip technical sections and ride creatively stay away.

Lastly I want to say that the builders did a great job of armoring the trail its just a shame that its such a bad descent

I'm giving this trail 1 star for users who like to ride like me, if you have a different style you may really enjoy this trail.

Summary:The lower portion say from the trailhead up to the abandoned car near the silo is generally smooth, flowing and fast with a few rocky sections here and there (I would give it a technical rating of say a 2 out of 5). Really fun and fast descent when it's not crowded but you absolutely *must* pay attention and watch out for other riders and hikers as there are numerous blind-spots that can be very dangerous.

The upper portion (from silo to Wild Turkey loop) is much rockier and a fair bit more technical (say a 3 out of 5 technical rating) - very different character from the lower section. It gets a little steeper in places and the general rockiness adds to the aerobic difficulty. A good place for a less experienced rider to work on bike handling skills and learning to pick good lines. Descending this portion of the trail can be fun if you are dialed in and riding smoothly but can suck if you are not.

The Wild Turkey loop is more of the same with lots of loose rocks in places, a few really fun flowing sections and a nice scenic overlook. We usually do this stretch on our way back from Heil. A big day for me is to do an out and back on Picture Rock - Heil then ride across town to do the Antelope / Nelson trail at Hall (probably a bit over 25 miles I think).

Overall this is a fun trail that provides a good challenge for an intermediate rider. If you are on a hard tail you will definitely take a bit of a beating a times (especially if you combine it with Heil, which is getting stupidly rocky near the top).

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Summary:Awesome trail. It has a bit of everything: smooth flowy singletrack at the bottom, rock gardens and technical stuff up top, and it connects two awesome Front Range trails in Heil and Hall Ranch. It is a consistent, steady climb from the Lyons end to the Wild Turkey loop. It doesn't get steep, but it still gets your heart rate up and the numerous turns and technical sections will keep you occupied. Gets very dusty when dry, and has great scenery, including an old abondoned car halfway through. And while some downhill speed demons may rat on the numerous "speed controls" on this trail, it is nice for riders like me who like to work on slower, technical descending over big rocks. Overall, a varied and fun trail. Ride Hall and Heil Ranch while using this trail to connect them for an epic.

Recommended Route:Ride Hall and Heil Ranch while using Picture Rock to connect them.

Other recommended trails in the same area:Hall, Heil

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Summary:My favorite low elevation trail in Boulder county. Apparently, many find this trail to be too rough and with little flow. I disagree. If rough surfaces upset you then you may be better off at the new Benjamin trail. Alarming: more and more parts of Picture Rock get "fixed." I really do appreciate all the volunteer work that goes into many of these trails but please do not neuter this trail. If you look for smooth XC rides just go somewhere else. If would be a true shame to "fix" this trail any more. Please don't.

Other recommended trails in the same area:Hall, Heil

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Review DateApril 18, 2011

Overall Rating 5 of 5

Aerobic Difficulty 3 of 5

Technical Difficulty 3 of 5

Ridden Trail:Once a week

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Reviewed by: teledog
,
Cross Country Rider

Summary:This trail is, indeed, a true gem. It's only as slow (at least uphill) as one's legs will allow. Open the mind and get into the flow.

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